Sustainable Land Management Sourcebook (Agriculture and Rural Development)

196 Pages·2008·3.79 MB·English

by  World Bank

A G R I C U LT U R E A N D R U R A L D E V E L O P M E N T
S
u
s
t
a
i
Policies promoting pro-poor agricultural growth n
a
b
are the key to helping countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals—especially the goal of le

halving poverty and hunger by 2015. The public sector, private sector, and civil society organizations L
a
are working to enhance productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector to reduce rural n
d
poverty and sustain the natural resource base. The pathways involve participation by rural communi-
M
ties, science and technology, knowledge generation and further learning, capacity enhancement, and
a
n
institution building.
a
g
e
m
Sustainable land management (SLM)—an essential component of such policies—will help to ensure
e
the productivity of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and hydrology. SLM will also support a range of n
t
ecosystem services on which agriculture depends.
S
o
u
The Sustainable Land Management Sourcebookprovides a knowledge repository of tested practices and r
c
e
innovative resource management approaches that are currently being tested. The diverse menu of b
o
options represents the current state of the art of good land management practices. Section one
o
k
identifies the need and scope for SLM and food production in relation to cross-sector issues such as
freshwater and forest resources, regional climate and air quality, and interactions with biodiversity
conservation and increasingly valuable ecosystem services. Section two categorizes the diversity of
land management systems globally and the strategies for improving household livelihoods in each
system type. Section three presents a range of investment notes that summarize good practice, as well
as innovative activity profiles that highlight design of successful or innovative investments. Section
four identifies easy-to-access, Web-based resources relevant for land and natural resource managers.
The Sourcebookis a living document that will be periodically updated and expanded as new material
and findings become available on good land management practices. Sustainable Land
This book will be of interest to project managers and practitioners working to enhance land and
natural resource management in developing countries.
Management
Sourcebook
ISBN 978-0-8213-7432-0
SKU 17432
Sustainable
Land
Management
SOURCEBOOK
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Seventy-five percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas and most are involved in farming. In the 21st century,
agriculture remains fundamental to economic growth, poverty alleviation, and environmental sustainability.
The World Bank’s Agriculture and Rural Development publication series presents recent analyses of issues that
affect agriculture’s role as a source of economic development, rural livelihoods, and environmental services. The
series is intended for practical application, and we hope that it will serve to inform public discussion, policy for-
mulation, and development planning.
Other titles in this series:
Forests Sourcebook: Practical Guidance for Sustaining Forests in Development Cooperation
Changing the Face of the Waters: The Promise and Challenge of Sustainable Aquaculture
Enhancing Agricultural Innovation: How to Go Beyond the Strengthening of Research Systems
Reforming Agricultural Trade for Developing Countries, Volume 1: Key Issues for a Pro-Development
Outcome of the Doha Round
Reforming Agricultural Trade for Developing Countries, Volume 2: Quantifying the Impact of
Multilateral Trade Reform
Sustainable Land Management: Challenges, Opportunities, and Trade-Offs
Shaping the Future of Water for Agriculture: A Sourcebook for Investment in Agricultural Water Management
Agriculture Investment Sourcebook
Sustaining Forests: A Development Strategy
Sustainable
Land
Management
Sourcebook
© 2008 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank
1818 H Street NW
Washington DC 20433
Telephone: [phone]
Internet: www.worldbank.org
E-mail: [email protected]
All rights r eserved.
1 2 3 4 11 10 09 08
This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. The
findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive
Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent.
The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denomina-
tions, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgement on the part of The World Bank
concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.
Rights and Permissions
The material in this publication is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permis-
sion may be a violation of applicable law. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank
encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly.
For permission to photocopy or reprint any part of this work, please send a request with complete information to the
Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA; telephone: [phone]; fax: 978-750-
4470; Internet: www.copyright.com.
All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher,
The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: [phone]; e-mail: [email protected].
Cover photo: Erick Fernandes/World Bank.
Cover design: Patricia Hord.
ISBN: 978-0-8213-7432-0
e- ISBN: 978-0-8213-7433-7
DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-7432-0
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Sustainable land management sourcebook.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8213-7432-0 — ISBN 978-0-8213-7433-7 (electronic)
1. Land use—Environmental aspects. 2. Sustainable agriculture. 3. Rural development—Environmental aspects.
I. World Bank.
HD108.3.S874 2008
333.73—dc222 2008022135
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xiii
PART I
SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 1
Chapter 1 Overview 3
Structure of the Sourcebook and Guide for Users 4
The Need for Sustainable Land Management 5
Definition of Sustainable Land Management 5
Drivers and Impacts of Global Change 6
Production Landscapes: The Context for Land Management 9
Land Management Trade-Offs 12
Confronting the Effects of Land Use 13
Selecting and Using Appropriate Indicators for SLM and Landscape Resilience 13
Diversity of Land Management Systems and Poverty Alleviation 13
Future Directions for Investments 16
PART II
MAJOR FARMING SYSTEMS: INVESTMENT OPTIONS AND INNOVATIONS 21
Chapter 2 Introduction 23
Chapter 3 Rainfed Farming and Land Management Systems in Humid Areas 25
Overview 25
Potentials for Poverty Reduction and Agricultural Growth 25
Investment Note 3.1 Science and Local Innovation Make Livestock More Profitable
and Friendlier to the Environment in Central America 27
Investment Note 3.2 An Approach to Sustainable Land Management by Enhancing
the Productive Capacity of African Farms: The Case of the
Underused and Versatile Soybean 34
Investment Note 3.3 Balancing Rainforest Conservation and Poverty Reduction 39
Investment Note 3.4 Groundwater Declines and Land Use: Looking for the
Right Solutions 45
v
Investment Note 3.5 Environmental Services Payments and Markets: A Basis for
Sustainable Land Resource Management? 51
Innovative Activity Profile 3.1 Species Diversity in Fallow Lands of Southern Cameroon:
Implications for Management of Constructed Landscapes 56
Innovative Activity Profile 3.2 Domestication and Commercialization of Forest Tree Crops in
the Tropics 60
Innovative Activity Profile 3.3 Avoided Deforestation with Sustainable Benefits:
Reducing Carbon Emissions from Deforestation and
Land Degradation 65
Innovative Activity Profile 3.4 On-Farm Integration of Freshwater Agriculture and Aquaculture
in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam: The Role of the Pond and
Its Effect on Livelihoods of Resource-Poor Farmers 71
Chapter 4 Rainfed Farming Systems in Highlands and Sloping Areas 77
Overview 77
Potentials for Poverty Reduction and Agricultural Growth 77
Investment Note 4.1 No-Burn Agricultural Zones on Honduran Hillsides:
Better Harvests, Air Quality, and Water Availability by
Way of Improved Land Management 78
Investment Note 4.2 Beans: Good Nutrition, Money, and Better Land Management—
Appropriate for Scaling Up in Africa? 83
Innovative Activity Profile 4.1 Fodder Shrubs for Improving Livestock Productivity and
Sustainable Land Management in East Africa 88
Chapter 5 Rainfed Dry and Cold Farming Systems 95
Overview 95
Potentials for Poverty Reduction and Agricultural Growth 95
Investment Note 5.1 Integrating Land and Water Management in Smallholder
Livestock Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa 96
Investment Note 5.2 Integrated Nutrient Management in the Semiarid Tropics 103
Investment Note 5.3 Integrated Natural Resource Management for Enhanced
Watershed Function and Improved Livelihoods in the
Semiarid Tropics 108
Investment Note 5.4 Enhancing Mobility of Pastoral Systems in Arid and Semiarid
Regions of Sub-Saharan Africa to Combat Desertification 114
Investment Note 5.5 Sustainable Land Management in Marginal Dry Areas of the
Middle East and North Africa: An Integrated Natural
Resource Management Approach 120
Investment Note 5.6 Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies in Sustainable
Land Management Approaches to Combat the Impacts of
Climate Change 126
Innovative Activity Profile 5.1 High-Value Cash Crops for Semiarid Regions: Cumin Production
in Khanasser, Syrian Arab Republic 131
Innovative Activity Profile 5.2 Economic and Sustainable Land Management Benefits of the
Forage Legume: Vetch 133
Innovative Activity Profile 5.3 Participatory Barley-Breeding Program for Semiarid Regions 134
Innovative Activity Profile 5.4 Climate Risk Management in Support of Sustainable
Land Management 136
Innovative Activity Profile 5.5 Land Degradation Surveillance: Quantifying and
Monitoring Land Degradation 141
vi CONTENTS
PARTIII
WEB-BASED RESOURCES 149
Chapter 6 Web-Based Tools and Methods for Sustainable Land Management 151
Global Field and Market Intelligence on Cereal and Oilseeds 151
Remote-Sensing Tool for Water Resources Management 151
Hydrological Data and Digital Watershed Maps 151
Basin and Watershed Scale Hydrological Modeling 153
River Basin Development and Management 153
Tracking Floods Globally: The Dartmouth Flood Observatory 154
The Carnegie Landsat Analysis System 154
Plant Biodiversity: Rapid Survey, Classification, and Mapping 156
Agricultural Production Regions and MODIS: NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer 157
Integrated Global Observations for Land 157
Glossary 161
Index 167
BOXES
1.1 Ecosystem Services 4
1.2 Historical Perspective on Landscapes, Land Management, and Land Degradation 6
1.3 Pressure-State-Response Framework 14
1.4 Household Strategies to Improve Livelihoods 16
1.5 Key Safeguard Policy Issues for SLM and Natural Resource Management Investments 18
3.1 Example of Pasture Rehabilitation and Intensification from Honduras 30
3.2 Examining Hydrological Contradictions in the North China Plain 46
3.3 Types of Environmental Services Generated by Good Land-Use Practices 52
5.1 Steps in the Diagnostic Surveillance Framework 143
5.2 Steps in the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework 145
FIGURES
1.1 Global Food Production, Food Prices, and Undernourishment in Developing Countries, 1961–2003 6
1.2 Typical Set of Production Activities (Forestry, Crop and Livestock Production, Hydropower, and
Coastal Fisheries) Encountered in a Production Landscape 7
1.3 World Comparisons of Food Production and Consumption 2003 10
3.1 Months of Consecutive Dry Season 28
3.2 Nigerian Soybean Production (1988–2006) and Markets in Ibadan (1987–2000) 35
3.3 Irrigation History of Luancheng County: Estimated Pumping for Irrigation, 1949–99 46
3.4 General Relationships between Precipitation and Evapotranspiration for Cropland in Luancheng County,
1947–2000 47
3.5 Hydronomic Zones in a River Basin 48
3.6 Schematic Trade-off between Reduced GHG Emissions through Avoided Deforestation and National
Economic Development Opportunities 68
3.7 Area and Production Increases in Freshwater Aquaculture in Vietnam, 1999–2005 72
3.8 Bioresource Flows of an IAA Pond with Medium-Input Fish Farming in the Mekong Delta 74
5.1 Effect of Watershed Interventions on Groundwater Levels at Two Benchmark Sites in India 111
5.2 Application of the Multilevel Analytical Framework to the Management of Olive Orchards on
Hill Slopes at Khanasser Valley 124
5.3 Successive Samples of Land Degradation Problem Domains at a Hierarchy of Scales Using Satellite
Imagery, Ground Sampling, and Laboratory Analysis of Soils by Infrared Spectroscopy 144
6.1 USDA-FAS Crop Explorer 152
6.2 USDA-FAS Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor 152
6.3 HydroSHEDS Database 153
CONTENTS vii
6.4 The Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model 154
6.5 River Basin Development and Management Comparative Study 155
6.6 Dartmouth Flood Observatory Map 155
6.7 Comparison of CLAS High-Resolution Processing with Standard Landsat Processing 156
6.8 MODIS Image Gallery 158
6.9 Integrated and Operational Land Observation System 159
TABLES
1.1 Comparison of Farming Systems by Category 15
3.1 Forage Use and Production Criteria 29
3.2 ASB Summary Matrix: Forest Margins of Sumatra 40
3.3 Incidence of Costs and Benefits for Environmental Services 52
3.4 Total Number of Plant Species Recorded in Three Fallow Types in the Humid Forest Zone of
Southern Cameroon 58
3.5 List of the Four Most Preferred Priority Indigenous Fruit Tree Species in Selected Regions 61
3.6 Percentage of Farm Households Practicing Freshwater Aquaculture in 2000 and 2004 by Wealth Groups 73
4.1 Farmers Planting Fodder Shrubs in Kenya, Northern Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda 91
5.1 Chemical Characteristics of 924 Soil Samples Collected from Farmers’ Fields in Three Districts of
Andhra Pradesh, India, 2002–04 104
5.2 Biological and Chemical Properties of Semiarid Tropical Vertisols 105
5.3 Nutrient Composition of Vermicompost 106
5.4 Seasonal Rainfall, Runoff, and Soil Loss from Different Benchmark Watersheds in India and Thailand 110
5.5 Major Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for the Khanasser Valley as an Example of
Marginal Drylands 121
5.6 Technological Interventions Introduced in the Khanasser Valley 123
viii CONTENTS
PREFACE
The World Bank’s Rural Strategy, Reaching the Rural Poor, Increasing demands for food, feed, and b io-e nergy chal-
commits the Bank to five core areas of rural development: lenge an already dwindling land, water, and forest base. To
address these demands for natural resources and the accom-
■ fostering an enabling environment for b road-b ased and panying challenges, the Bank’s work emphasizes sustainable
sustainable rural growth land, fisheries, forest, and livestock and water management,
■ enhancing agricultural productivity and c ompetitiveness including governance issues. Until recently, increases in
■ encouraging non farm economic growth agricultural p roductivity—p articularly in industrial regions
■ improving social well- being, managing and mitigating of the world— have, with the help of both science and sub-
risk, and reducing vulnerability sidy, pushed world agricultural commodity prices down,
■ enhancing sustainability of natural resource making it increasingly difficult for marginal land farmers to
management. operate profitably within existing technical and economic
parameters. In the first few months of 2008, however, a
A key goal of the Rural Strategy is support to agricultural combination of high oil prices, poor crop yields caused by
growth that benefits the poor, for without a renewed effort unfavorable weather in major producer countries such as
to accelerate growth in the agricultural sector, few countries Australia, skyrocketing demand for grains for biofuels
will be able to reach the Millennium Development Goals— (ethanol), and market speculation have all combined to
especially the goal of halving poverty and hunger—by 2015. push commodity prices to a ll-t ime highs. This price trend is
Furthermore, the World Development Report 2007: Agricul- projected to continue for the foreseeable future and will
ture for Development (WDR 2007) calls for greater invest- stimulate rapid expansion or intensification of agricultural
ment in agriculture in developing countries. WDR 2007 land u se—o r both. Good land management practices will be
warns that the sector must be placed at the center of the essential to sustain high agricultural productivity without
development agenda because, while 75 percent of the degrading land and the associated natural resource base and
world’s poor live in rural areas, a mere 4 percent of official ecosystem services essential for sustaining land p roductivity.
development assistance goes to agriculture in developing The Sustainable Land Management Sourcebook is
countries. In S ub-S aharan Africa, a region heavily reliant on intended to be a ready reference for practitioners (including
agriculture for overall growth, public spending for farming World Bank stakeholders, clients in borrowing countries,
is also only 4 percent of total government spending, and the and World Bank project leaders) seeking state- of- the- art
sector is still taxed at relatively high levels. information about good land management approaches,
ix